Hurlburt general fired amid probe of inappropriate relationship

Published: Thursday, January 9, 2014 at 03:57 PM.

HURLBURT FIELD — A high-level special operations commander has been fired amid an investigation into an alleged inappropriate personal relationship.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Jon Weeks was relieved Thursday as commander of the Air Force Special Operations Warfare Center.

Gen. Eric Fiel, head of Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, said he made the decision based on preliminary information from the ongoing investigation into allegations about the inappropriate relationship.

“This was not an easy decision, but I believe it is in the best interest of the men and women of the (Air Force Special Operations Warfare Center),” Fiel said in a statement. “(The Warfare Center) will continue to train and equip our Air Commandos to effectively conduct special operations missions around the globe.”

Col. Royce Lott, the Warfare Center’s vice commander, will take over in the interim until Col. David Tabor assumes command in the spring.

Weeks, an Air Force reservist, was on active duty as the Warfare Center’s commander since February. He oversaw about 1,000 people.

Pending results of the investigation, he has been temporarily assigned as the mobilization assistant to the director of operations at AFSOC.

Capt. Victoria Porto, a spokeswoman for AFSOC, said no additional details about the investigation have been released by the Inspector General because it is ongoing.

She said she does not know exactly when the investigation will be complete.

“They try to do these things as expeditiously as possible,” she said.

The Warfare Center is headquartered at Hurlburt, but has operation locations at Duke Field, Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., and Robins Air Force Base, Ga. Its mission is to train, educate and equip forces in special operations and irregular warfare and to develop special operations tactics and techniques.

Weeks began Air Force pilot training in 1983 at Vance Air Force Base, Okla., and was stationed for most of his career at Duke or Hurlburt. His service has included more than 400 combat flight hours and more than a year as combat commander for U.S. Central Command.

When he took over command of the Warfare Center in February, it had been re-formed and expanded. He said he was excited for the opportunity.

“I couldn’t ask for a more professional group to serve with,” he said during the change-of-command ceremony. “Today we start a new chapter of a full-force enterprise to be a model for the rest of the Air Force.”

HURLBURT FIELD — A high-level special operations commander has been fired amid an investigation into an alleged inappropriate personal relationship.

Air Force Brig. Gen. Jon Weeks was relieved Thursday as commander of the Air Force Special Operations Warfare Center.

Gen. Eric Fiel, head of Air Force Special Operations Command at Hurlburt Field, said he made the decision based on preliminary information from the ongoing investigation into allegations about the inappropriate relationship.

“This was not an easy decision, but I believe it is in the best interest of the men and women of the (Air Force Special Operations Warfare Center),” Fiel said in a statement. “(The Warfare Center) will continue to train and equip our Air Commandos to effectively conduct special operations missions around the globe.”

Col. Royce Lott, the Warfare Center’s vice commander, will take over in the interim until Col. David Tabor assumes command in the spring.

Weeks, an Air Force reservist, was on active duty as the Warfare Center’s commander since February. He oversaw about 1,000 people.

Pending results of the investigation, he has been temporarily assigned as the mobilization assistant to the director of operations at AFSOC.

Capt. Victoria Porto, a spokeswoman for AFSOC, said no additional details about the investigation have been released by the Inspector General because it is ongoing.

She said she does not know exactly when the investigation will be complete.

“They try to do these things as expeditiously as possible,” she said.

The Warfare Center is headquartered at Hurlburt, but has operation locations at Duke Field, Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., and Robins Air Force Base, Ga. Its mission is to train, educate and equip forces in special operations and irregular warfare and to develop special operations tactics and techniques.

Weeks began Air Force pilot training in 1983 at Vance Air Force Base, Okla., and was stationed for most of his career at Duke or Hurlburt. His service has included more than 400 combat flight hours and more than a year as combat commander for U.S. Central Command.

When he took over command of the Warfare Center in February, it had been re-formed and expanded. He said he was excited for the opportunity.

“I couldn’t ask for a more professional group to serve with,” he said during the change-of-command ceremony. “Today we start a new chapter of a full-force enterprise to be a model for the rest of the Air Force.”